Direct Partnerships with Local Organisations: Opportunities, Risks and Setting a Research Agenda

The shift towards locally led development in international cooperation has become a crucial goal for many actors in the development sector. Currently, however, the transition is symbolic rather than substantive, with existing assumptions about local organisations’ capacities and risks hindering true power shifts. This policy paper is based on findings from a series of workshops organised by THRIVE Institute in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Netherlands and the Knowledge Platform for Security and Rule of Law (KPSRL) within the Project “Shifting Discourse in Rule of Law Development Policy”. While this policy paper was prompted by the MFA’s concerns about local organisations' capacity to manage programs and fiduciary risks associated with direct funding, it highlights the importance of understanding risk and capacity first and primarily from the perspective of local civil society actors and the challenges they experience to mitigate these risks. Through evidence and analysis, this paper highlights the necessity of addressing power imbalances and reassessing the role of international intermediaries like INGOs. It emphasises the need for donors to establish equitable partnerships with local organisations, focusing on mutual accountability. To support this transition, policy insights aimed at facilitating legitimate, sustainable, and impactful partnerships between donors and local actors are outlined. Further, this transition towards locally led development includes revising development cooperation governance ‘starting from the South’, enhancing multi-year funding, and establishing shared accountability frameworks. Finally, the policy paper lays the foundation for a research agenda to provide further evidence to inform future policymaking on locally led development.